# 1980–81 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represented Creighton University during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bluejays, led by head coach Tom Apke, played their home games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. The Jays finished with a 21–9 record (11–5 MVC), and won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament to earn an automatic bid to the 1981 NCAA tournament. As No. 8 seed in the Mideast region, the Jays fell to No. 9 seed Saint Joseph's in the opening round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1980* | | Wisconsin–Superior | W 92–59 | 1–0 | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Dec 2, 1980* | | Nebraska–Omaha | W 79–72 | 2–0 | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Dec 6, 1980* | | Nebraska | W 66–61 $^{OT}$ | 3–0 | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Dec 8, 1980* | | at Saint Louis | W 64–57 | 4–0 | St. Louis Arena St. Louis, Missouri |
| Dec 9, 1980* | | Loyola–Chicago | W 82–74 | 5–0 | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Dec 12, 1980* | | at Iowa State | W 77–73 | 6–0 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| Dec 22, 1980* | | Canisius | W 72–52 | 7–0 | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Dec 28, 1980* | | at South Florida | L 62–77 | 7–1 | Sun Dome Tampa, Florida |
| Jan 3, 1981 | | Tulsa | W 97–86 | 8–1 (1–0) | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Jan 8, 1981 | | at Southern Illinois | W 78–62 | 9–1 (2–0) | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Jan 10, 1981 | | at Indiana State | W 62–61 | 10–1 (3–0) | Hulman Center Terre Haute, Indiana |
| Jan 15, 1981* | | Marquette | L 66–76 | 10–2 | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Jan 17, 1981 | | Bradley | W 54–51 | 11–2 (4–0) | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Jan 19, 1981 | | at Drake | L 70–71 | 11–3 (4–1) | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Jan 22, 1981 | | Wichita State | L 72–77 | 11–4 (4–2) | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Jan 24, 1981 | | West Texas A&M | W 86–69 | 12–4 (5–2) | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Jan 31, 1981 | | at Tulsa | L 84–87 | 12–5 (5–3) | Tulsa Convention Center Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Feb 2, 1981 | | Southern Illinois | W 50–43 | 13–5 (6–3) | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Feb 5, 1981 | | Indiana State | W 65–62 | 14–5 (7–3) | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Feb 7, 1981 | | at Bradley | L 80–93 | 14–6 (7–4) | Robertson Memorial Field House Peoria, Illinois |
| Feb 9, 1981* | | at No. 3 DePaul | L 57–83 | 14–7 | Rosemont Horizon (16,473) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Feb 14, 1981 | | New Mexico State | W 95–83 | 15–7 (8–4) | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Feb 19, 1981 | | Drake | W 73–69 | 16–7 (9–4) | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Feb 21, 1981 | | at No. 14 Wichita State | L 70–83 | 16–8 (9–5) | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Feb 26, 1981 | | at West Texas A&M | W 90–86 | 17–8 (10–5) | WT Fieldhouse Canyon, Texas |
| Feb 28, 1981 | | at New Mexico State | W 84–78 | 18–8 (11–5) | Pan American Center Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Missouri Valley Conference tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 1981* | (2) | (7) Indiana State Quarterfinals | W 64–61 | 19–8 | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Mar 6, 1981* | (2) | (3) Tulsa Semifinals | W 66–64 | 20–8 | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Mar 7, 1981* | (2) | at (1) Wichita State Championship game | W 70–64 | 21–8 | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| 1981 NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1981* | (8 ME) | vs. (9 ME) Saint Joseph's First round | L 57–59 | 21–9 | University of Dayton Arena Dayton, Ohio |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. All times are in Central. ||||||